Ripples In Our Reflections
by Nozomi Illuminated
Summary: They may seem to have nothing in common at first, but they'll come to realize how alike they really are - and how much they mean to each other. A replica with no future, and a boy hiding from his past. Riku/Xion, in both romantic and platonic contexts; a collection of unrelated one-shots.


_A/N: I was listening to Pandora while writing this, and Sanctuary came on. Perfect timing, huh?_

_Well, I'm back! Sorry it took so long to get anything updated, I've been struggling with a mix of writer's block and simple procrastination. I definitely plan to continue writing fanfiction though, and I do have a ton of ideas. It's getting them written that's the problem._

_I stole the prompts for this one-shot collection from 30-reflections on LJ. I'm pretty sure it's a dead community, but the prompts are perfect for Riku/Xion! There are only 30 prompts though, so that means there will be only 30 chapters. At least there's no word limit! :D_

_Anyway, I didn't really edit this, and it's all over the place because I didn't plan it out, just started writing. The tense gave me issues too, and I'm not completely happy with it. But I wanted to put something up so my account doesn't seem so empty, haha. If you find a typo or anything that's grammatically incorrect, please leave a review and I'll correct it._

* * *

At the end, all she can think is _breathe, breathe, breathe_. It won't be long, now, until she's gone. She knows it's all for the best, but her body continues to cling feebly to its existence.

_Breathe, breathe, breathe. _

Her feet begin to tingle, then go numb. The sensation spreads slowly up her legs, but she still doesn't stop breathing. Soon she doubts she will be able to feel her best friend's arms around her.

_Breathe._

She has to disappear soon, and some part of her mind dimly wonders what's taking so long. But then again, perhaps it only seems an eternity to her. Truthfully, she isn't certain of much of anything. Her perception of time is sliding from her awareness, along with her other senses.

_Breathe._

But not her memories. _She _will always keep her memories, even if no one else can. The breaths she takes are slow and deep, the cool air seeming painfully real - tethering her to reality.

(But crystal doesn't breathe.)

Xion feels something change in an instant. It's just an impression, a difference she can't identify, but she feels _something_ (Sora?) intangible but firm in its presence. That's it, then - she doesn't even feel herself breathing anymore. It could be either the numbness that's encompassing her entire body now, or perhaps she finally stopped futilely inhaling and exhaling.

(Neither does light.)

She splits into thousands of fragments, shining and floating like fireflies in the sunlight, or reflections of her own precious memories. Her consciousness is fading, but she embraces her memories - not Sora's, or Roxas', but _hers, hers, hers_, with all her might. If they become the only tattered remains of her existence, she won't complain.

In her last moments of awareness, she glimpses the sky.

* * *

The gentle sound of breathing is all that she's aware of in her sleep. She's not conscious, but later she will be certain that she had sensed it, the moment they had awoken her and she had begun to take breath again. For now, though, she slumbers on without dreams.

* * *

With a sudden, full gasp of breath, Xion jolts upright in the bed, nearly bumping into the person that had been standing over her. She stares into nothing for a moment, eyes wide and breaths panicked as if she had burst from a nightmare, though she couldn't remember dreaming a single dream, much less a nightmare.

"Xion?" a familiar voice snaps her out of it; blinking her eyes, her breathing grows less distressed, and she glances to the side, where Riku - the figure she had almost bumped into, she realized belatedly - had moved to.

"Riku?" she asked in return, still slightly dazed. "Why am I…" Here? Awake? _Alive_? She wasn't sure how to end the sentence, so she simply let it trail off as she glanced around the room confusedly. It certainly wasn't like The World That Never Was. It could be Twilight Town, she supposed, but she couldn't tell. The bed is outfitted with a plain, navy comforter, which she had been placed on top of. The headboard is a dark wood, and a chest of the same color is located beside of it. However, she pays little attention to those mundane items as her eyes fixate on a bed identical to her own a little farther away. Or rather, the person lying on its blankets, chest rising almost imperceptibly. "Roxas…?" she breathes.

Riku moves into her line of sight, blocking the figure of her friend as he explains. "He's fine - now that you've woken up, it probably won't be long until he's up as well. And before you ask, Le-Axel's fine too, but I think he went out to train with Kairi, so you can't see him right now." He glances around and adds, almost as an afterthought, "You're in a world called Radiant Garden, by the way."

A thought suddenly occurs to her, causing a chill to run down her spine. "Is Sora okay? He hasn't fallen asleep again, has he?" She barely manages to keep the panic out of her voice, and is taken aback when Riku laughs.

"No, he saved you and Roxas himself - you can meet him in a minute, if you want -" he's cut off, stiff with surprise as Xion nearly tackles him in an embrace.

"Thank you, Riku," she says, and looks up at him. She thinks he looks a little embarrassed, and now it is her turn to laugh.

"It was nothing, like I told you, Sora's the one who saved you guys, he did most of the work. If you're thanking me, you should thank Kairi and Axel too, they helped some." He relaxes slightly, but doesn't return her hug, and she realizes she's making him uncomfortable. She backs away, but keeps a hand on his arm.

"No really, thank you, Riku - for everything you've done for me. I'm so… so glad I can be with Axel and Roxas again - and you too. You're my friend too, Riku." If she thought he looked embarrassed before, she's certain he is now. "Ah - your eyes!" She doesn't know how she didn't notice already, but standing so close now it's impossible not to. "They're such a pretty color - and you cut your hair!"

"Uh, yeah, Xion… You think it's time to go see the others now?" He says, trying to ease out of the situation he's in - if Sora walked in with her cooing all over him, he'd never hear the end of it. She finally backs off, and nods determinedly - she's going to meet Sora, the person she sacrificed everything for - well, admittedly she sacrificed everything for Roxas as well, but still, it seems important that she make a good impression.

She pulls away from him, ready to walk to the door, but stumbles, suddenly unbalanced without him or the bed to support her. He catches her, and she sits heavily on the bed once more. "Sorry," she says, and now she's the embarrassed one. I guess I've been asleep for so long, it feels strange to be up and moving around."

He offers his hand, and she looks at him, surprised somehow. For the first time since her awakening he smiles at her, and she sees his relief that she's okay. That's the moment Xion knows, without him having to say anything, he considers her a friend too.

"It's fine. Here, I'll help you." Despite his smile, his voice is serious and concerned, she thinks. That's so like Riku. She does spare a glance in Roxas' direction, but he is just as soundly asleep as he was when she woke. She doesn't think he's stirred a bit throughout their entire conversation.

"As long as I can come back and see Roxas," she says firmly, though it comes out a bit like a pout, unfortunately. But Riku doesn't tease her, just continues to offer his hand.

"Of course."

That's all she needs to here. She grasps his hand, larger than her own, and stands, a little wobbly at first, but quickly straightening, expecting the disorientation this time. Riku leads her to the door, but before he opens it, he hesitates, realizing how it's going to look, at least to Sora, and Kairi, if she's back. What's he thinking, Lea will never let it end either if he sees. His eyes flicker to Xion, looking at him expectantly.

The things he does for friendship. With a long-suffering sigh, he opens the door.


End file.
